OUT OF COMPETITION
DOCUMENTARIES
ITALIAN PREMIERE
Jiseok
South Korea, 2022, 116’, Korean, English, Farsi, Japanese, Mandarin, Thai
Directed by: Kim Young-jo
Screenplay: Jeon Byeong-won
Producer: Kim Dong-baek
Kim Jiseok was a lighthouse. His programming and advocacy for Asian cinema, which started when he co-founded the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), helped shape this festival, and South Korea, as a beacon for Asian films, making it one of the top-tier festivals in the world. He discovered emerging new talents from all Asian regions, giving them opportunities with Busan as a global forum, and forever changed lives of many filmmakers through his quiet avuncular manner. Beyond filmmakers, he mentored and inspired many film festival directors and programmers, imbuing work wisdom and best practices to budding film festivals, from Singapore to Udine, with the Far East Film Festival. His untimely death in 2017 during a programming trip to the Cannes Film Festival shocked the film festival and global film industry. This documentary honors the beloved film programmer who dedicated his life to promoting Asian cinema, drawing on interviews with family and friends such as arthouse stalwarts Jafar Panahi, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Tan Chui Mui and Apichatpong Weerasethakul – with more interviews from his longtime friends and colleagues, directors, actors, and festival officials, they all share a constant theme about his pure passion for the movies. As Kim’s life was deeply entwined with that of BIFF, the film also bears great insights into the history of the festival. Kim Young-jo ultimately directs a stirring tribute to the late and great Kim Jiseok, a true champion of Asian cinema, whose death is still felt today.
Kim Young-jo
Kim Young-jo’s debut documentary feature My Family Portrait (2007) competed at Marseille International Film Festival. This was followed by Taebaek, Land of Embers (2008), which competed at Busan International Film Festival. Jiseok is his eighth documentary.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
2007 – My Family Portrait
2008 – Taebaek, Land of Embers
2015 – Still and All
2018 – Punch Bowl